Cutthroat Peak — South Buttress (SE Buttress)
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A long, moderate Beckey classic (FA Fred Beckey & Don Gordon, 1958) that weaves a clever path through slabs, overhangs and chimneys up the broad, sunny south side of a major Washington Pass peak (8,066 ft). One of the most popular moderate alpine rock routes in the North Cascades — big position, mostly easy climbing with a few well-protected steeper 5.8 steps; features a 'Tarzan Jump' and a sandy summit gully near the top.
🥾 Approach · descent · season
Approach: From a Highway 20 pullout ~1.5 mi west of Washington Pass, drop into the woods at the east end of the long pullout and cross State Creek, then follow climbers' trails up into the meadow/basin south of the peak; talus and twin gullies (4th class) lead to a notch at the base of the SE buttress — roughly 2 hours depending on snow. (Note: the creek crossed here is State Creek, NOT Cutthroat Creek, which drains the peak's NE/Cutthroat Lake side.)
⬇️ Descent: Standard descent is either down the West Ridge (several single-rope rappels plus downclimbing of sandy ribs and gullies — known for loose rock and rockfall potential), or rappel the South Buttress itself (a dozen-plus rappels, which lets you recover a gear cache at the base). Plan ~3 hours; expect loose rock and possible steep snow in early season.
🗓️ Season: Mid/late July through September once approach and descent gullies have melted out; early season needs axe/crampons for snow.
🎒 Gear & food
Rack: Single rack 0.3–3 in with a few doubles in the 0.5–2 range to sew up the crux pitches, a few nuts, optional #4 for the summit-ridge offwidth, alpine draws/runners (single and double-length), 60m rope (70m useful for simul/rappels). Early season: ice axe and crampons for approach/descent snow.
✅ Before you leave the trailhead
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⚠️ Hazards · fire · emergency
- Route-finding and descent complexity — the line wanders through slabs/chimneys and the standard descent is a dozen-plus rappels (off the buttress) or West Ridge raps/downclimb over loose, rockfall-prone scree/gullies; easy to go off-route.
🌤️ Live conditions
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